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Head of a girl, possibly an acolyte to a priestess

Roman
Imperial Period
about A.D. 100–130
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Corinthia, Corinth

Medium/Technique Marble, from Mt. Pentelikon near Athens
Dimensions Height x length (of face): 22.5 x 14 cm (8 7/8 x 5 1/2 in.)
Credit Line Catharine Page Perkins Fund
Accession Number96.698
ClassificationsSculpture

Catalogue Raisonné Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 353; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 115 (additional published references).
DescriptionHead of a young girl. She has almond-shaped eyes with thick lids. The individual hairs of her eyebrows have been incised. Her mouth is wide with full lips and her face tapers into a pointed chin. Her hair is pulled back into the melon hairstyle (Melonfrisur) with a broad fillet or infula encircling her head. Her hair is sectioned into broad, flat rolls that are gathered into a wide, flat bun at the crown of her head. The infula ties at the nape of her neck.

The head is broken midway down the neck. The bridge and tip of the nose have been damaged, as have the ears, bun and infula. There is a prominent chip on her right temple. The stone is discolored and there are considerable remains of a hard incrustation.

Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI251: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.98 / delta18O -4.75, Attribution - Naxos, Pentelikon, Thasos-Cape Vathy, Sounion.
ProvenanceBy date unknown: with Edward Perry Warren (according to Warren's records: Provenience, Greece. "Bought in Corinth and said to have been found there."); purchased by MFA from Edward Perry Warren, October 1896